LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR; When a Comic Is Taken Seriously

Published: January 9, 2000

A number of readers have expressed dismay over the Jan. 2 installment of Stan Mack's Dispatches titled ''A View From Another Window.''

The cartoon strip was based on Mr. Mack's experiences during the terminal illness of his partner, Janet Bode, who had breast cancer. Mr. Mack submitted the cartoon Dec. 27. Ms. Bode, who wrote books for young adults, died Dec. 30. She was 56.

Ms. Bode had worked with Mr. Mack on earlier versions of the strip until she became too ill to continue.

Here is a sampling of letters from readers of the four regional sections that published the strip:

I have metastatic breast cancer. I have been fighting this disease for almost 10 years. My prayer is that I will stay alive until a treatment can be found to render my disease a chronic condition instead of a terminal one. I decided that I would approach the 21st century with optimism and hope.

I woke up on New Year's Day marveling that indeed I did live long enough to see the 21st century. I reached for the paper and was aghast when I turned to the Stan Mack cartoon. How terrible that The New York Times would permit such an item, filled with despair and pain, to appear in its first Sunday edition of the 21st century.

SANDRA LEE FENSTER

Port Washington, N.Y.

In an interview last week, Mr. Mack said: ''There is a world, invisible to many, of terminally ill people being cared for full time by a loving family member or friend. These caregivers are living with burdens and pressures that even regular visitors can miss. For years, Janet and I have used the power and immediacy of the popular art form, the 'strip,' to illuminate serious issues. This is certainly one of them.''